Agenda - 02-05-1990 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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I - 13 Letters To The Editor • v a real n � °Support 'Triangle mss' t o that the scope of the rail system to the point I was appalled to read your editorial of where it will not be able to attract rider- Oct 3 attacking the proposed—Triangle Fit- ship.Thus.I recommend full and unequivo- press rail system by dubbing it .an- cal support of the—Triangle Fh:press"by all other idea to pull the rug from under Due cozens and legslators who care about the ham's economic future." long-term future of the Triangle metropoll- There are absolutely no data to justify tan area. • ELLS COVEY this opinion.In fact all of the available data D lead to just the opposite conclusion.Look- ing ahead,not only at the next decade.but at the next century.Durham's economic hi- ture will depend on the development of of- fident,attrac ve and safe alternatives to automobile>ransporation. The'Triangle Depress"sounds as If it could be the first step in this direction.For every person who uses the rail system there will be one less car on the highways, one less pa.-king space used and a little less Licht rail works pollution in the air.Good public transporta- bon would greatly increase economic and Once"again our good friends at the. soda!opportunity for young,poor and state Department of Transportation hand.i cipped°ins' have plundered the truth. In what has I stroney support the proposal by Jim become a familiar and discordant re- Clark.president m Save the Water,to de- train, they tell us that the Triangle is Leigh Gary and Cho Durham,mere inappropriate for light-rail application. With disdain they point to even larger urban areas where they imply light rail has failed. A planning engineer for the state says. 'Studies done on such sys- tems in Miami, Dallas and the [San Francisco) Bay area show ridership is much less than expected.. ." But the Bay Area Rapid Transit has operated at near-saturation levels. Dal- las has yet to begin construction of its system. And, as anyone with even a cursory knowledge of light-rail activity knows, Miami utterly botched its sys- tem. Bus systems classically serve as feeders to the rail stations. Miami dismantled its entire bus system -- cannibalized it. really, in a misbegotten effort to fund the light rail. The use of these examples to influence our judgment is scandalous.At the least. it is a mark of stunning ignorance.At the worse,it is the hand of callous deception. Light rail is succeeding around the country.Buffalo and Portland are prom- inent recent success stories. It is suc- ceeding where there is foresight and clarity of thinking. A review of the literature is in order. ROSS ALLARD Cary